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Ask the Experts: The planner

I would like to buy a house with enough land for a landing strip for a microlight or small plane. What restrictions are there (airspace laws aside) and how could I best ensure there would be no local objections and that the property would be suitable? And what if I were to use a friendly farmer’s field?

PD, by e-mail

You first need to decide whether you are going to use the landing strip for a small plane or a microlight, and whether you intend to use the strip solely for your personal plane or if you want to allow other people to use it on a regular or irregular basis. In my experience microlights, which have been described as “buzzing around like unwanted bluebottles”, generate far more objections from neighbours than light planes. Clearly, the more isolated the site the fewer the neighbours who might object, but the noise